At a courtyard in the Military Police Force reserved for entertaining guests.
The shishi-odoshi's clacking sounded now and then as Uchiha Fugaku set down his teacup.
Looking at the young boy before him, he said with a sigh, "I truly never expected you to grow so quickly after awakening your Sharingan, Yuzhen-kun."
Uchiha Fugaku was indeed filled with emotion over this.
The boy before him had sought him out shortly after awakening his Sharingan.
That had been less than two months ago.
In that brief time, he had risen from Genin to Special Jonin.
That alone wasn't much.
What mattered was...
Uchiha Yuzhen, standing before him, made him feel a hint of danger.
And then there was that killing intent!
He truly lived up to the report: a genius boy who had defeated Biwa Juzo, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
That was right!
Fugaku now saw Yuzhen as a genius!
There were clear records in the history of the Uchiha Clan of members who awakened their Sharingan in their teens and only then began to flourish.
Such a person appeared roughly once every few decades.
And in the clan's history over the past century, there had been one such figure.
Uchiha Madara!
In Fugaku's eyes, Uchiha Yuzhen was now...
the next Uchiha who would build up his strength and then rise to unstoppable heights.
At Uchiha Fugaku's praise, Yuzhen pretended to feel embarrassed and rubbed the back of his head.
"No, not at all. All the strength I have now is thanks to being an Uchiha."
"I won't forget how the clan has supported me."
Hearing this, Uchiha Fugaku nodded with satisfaction.
How could he not be satisfied?
He had hurriedly summoned Uchiha Yuzhen at this time because he feared that, after being promoted to Special Jonin, this genius might start giving the clan less importance.
After all, the boy belonged to the Hokage Lineage.
Judging by the current trend, the village certainly wouldn't treat him poorly.
And in the past, the Uchiha had indeed seemed to leave members who didn't stand out in talent to fend for themselves.
He had already decided to direct some resources toward Uchiha Yuzhen, who had sided with him within the clan and was doing well in the village, to win him over.
He couldn't let the Uchiha Clan's importance in Yuzhen's heart become too low...
Just then—
Yuzhen said to Fugaku with an awkward expression, "Lord Fugaku, I have a problem I need your help with this time, too."
"What is it? Don't hesitate to tell me!" Uchiha Fugaku perked up. He had just been wondering how to win Yuzhen over, and now the boy had given him an opening.
Hearing this, Uchiha Yuzhen said sincerely, "During this mission, I realized that I need a weapon."
"Since I'm skilled in Uchiha Style Nintaijutsu, I need a weapon that can conduct chakra."
"So... I was hoping to borrow some money from you, Lord Fugaku, to—"
"There's no need for that, Yuzhen-kun!" Before Uchiha Yuzhen could finish, Fugaku interrupted him.
Yuzhen looked up in confusion.
Uchiha Fugaku gave him a warm smile. "You won't have to pay a single coin for this weapon. The clan will take care of everything!"
"By the way... your weapon of choice is a katana, right? We'll have the Artisan Village make one for you. It'll take a little while."
"After that, a Ninja Cat will deliver it to your home."
"Huh?!" Uchiha Yuzhen's mouth fell open.
He'd get a weapon without paying?
And one that could conduct chakra!
The Chakra Metal needed for that was very expensive.
After receiving such a generous gift, Yuzhen spoke with Fugaku as if dazed by the money, then wandered home in a stupor.
Time passed slowly. Five days after the gathering...
At a Training Ground in the Forest of Death, Uchiha Yuzhen sat cross-legged beneath a large tree.
He was thinking about what direction to take his training next.
He had mastered many techniques by now.
The Uchiha's Fire Release, Nintaijutsu, and Shurikenjutsu.
A highly versatile Wind Release Ninjutsu, Pressure Damage.
And the Space-Time Ninjutsu—the Flying Thunder God!
His fighting style had already taken shape.
At this stage, he wasn't a long-range powerhouse.
Instead, he used... Uchiha Style Nintaijutsu as his foundation, fighting through high-speed movement.
This combat style, built around speed...
The Flying Thunder God, whose Affix was still blue, shouldn't remain separate from the rest of his abilities.
He needed to integrate it!
"That's right! Since my style, like Namikaze Minato's and the future Shisui's, is based on high-speed movement..."
"Before my next mission, I have to integrate the Flying Thunder God into it."
He had a feeling that once he truly mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique Formula...
he would enter the realm of the Elite Jonin.
Only then would he have a chance to survive the brutal Third Shinobi World War that would soon come.
War was terrifying!
Especially a large-scale war between superhuman fighters.
In his previous life, watching scenes like these from outside a screen, he had thought they looked cool.
Only after being reborn into this world...
did he realize how terrifying all these bizarre ninjutsu really were.
After all, the people in this world...
no matter how strong you were, if you let your guard down, a single Kunai thrust could take you out.
"That's why a Space-Time Ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God is so precious."
"You get to hit others while they can't hit you—what a dirty trick... Obito has demonstrated that to perfection."
"And while the Flying Thunder God can't match Kamui's power when it comes to moving around freely, simply escaping when you can't win is still pretty effective!"
With that thought, Uchiha Yuzhen could no longer hold back.
He began to ponder intensely.
In the training that followed...
he experimented with combining Uchiha Style Nintaijutsu and the Flying Thunder God.
A few days later.
At the Training Ground in the Forest of Death once again...
A black figure, trailing flecks of fire, flickered across the field.
The black-red light flashed, its sharp aura sweeping through the training ground. Every wooden post...
turned to ash in an instant.
Uchiha Yuzhen held a Ninja Blade, chakra concentrated along its edge.
With Great Fire Circulation, Yuzhen swung the blade in his hand.
"Moonlight Slash!"
A huge flying slash formed of flames surged forward, its terrifying edge unstoppable!
Boom—!
The Great Fire Edge flashed past...
The trees dozens of meters ahead were cut clean through.
And that wasn't all!
The flames seemed to cling to the floating trees, suddenly latching onto them.
The roar of the blazing fire filled the air.
The trees burned to nothing.
"Phew~" Uchiha Yuzhen slowly exhaled a breath and sheathed his Ninja Blade.
He was very satisfied with his experiments over the past few days combining the Flying Thunder God with Uchiha Style!
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